Defendants sentenced on their birthdays get shorter sentences

Evidence

Chen and Philippe (2019) found that, in France, if the date on which the judge made his/her decision happened to be the birthday of the defendant, the sentence was reduced by 3 percent. In the United States, when the decision date and the defendant’s birthday were the same, defendants received federal sentences that were 33 percent shorter. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 756

Categorization

• CANDY: A birthday coincidence measurably shortens federal sentences — a delightful trivial fact for conversation.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 756